


The Playlist Of Us

by lexagriffins



Category: Motherland: Fort Salem (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Assassins & Hitmen, Angst, F/F, Hurt/Comfort, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-11
Updated: 2020-09-21
Packaged: 2021-03-04 23:29:04
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 15,624
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25204753
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lexagriffins/pseuds/lexagriffins
Summary: Raelle Collar works for FORT, a secret government agency, with her best friends Abigail Bellweather and Tally Craven. Their job is to take down the most dangerous of criminal organisations in America. One such organisation is SPREE.Scylla Ramshorn, the love of Raelle's life, supposedly died in a car accident nine months ago. So how is it possible that she is spotted at a SPREE base during a FORT surveillance operation?Is Scylla alive and working for a terrorist organisation? Did she ever love Raelle? Are SPREE really the bad guys and FORT the good guys? Most importantly, can the two girls learn to understand each other and somehow find their way back to what they once were?ORAssassins AU!!
Relationships: Raelle Collar/Scylla Ramshorn
Comments: 21
Kudos: 89





	1. "it's not enough to be young and in love"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lana Del Ray - Love

_Raelle’s eyelids were getting heavy and she allowed them to slowly close,_ _revelling_ _in the feeling of her girlfriend’s fingers running through her hair and the sound of her beating heart as she lay in her embrace._

_“The sun is starting to rise!” Scylla exclaimed softly, breaking the comfortable silence that had settled around them._

_“Mmmhh,” Raelle responded, too sleepy to commit to full words._

_They had been awake all night, neither of them wanting to succumb to sleep. Talk and sex and cuddles had kept them busy for hours, but now they were completely spent._

_“We really should sleep,” Scylla sighed, “I’ll be leaving in a few hours!”_

_Raelle shook her head dramatically, snuggling in even closer to Scylla. “No sleep!”_

_Scylla chuckled, kissing the blonde on top of her head. “I don’t think you’ll be able to stay awake baby, no matter how much you may want to.”_

_Raelle lifted her head off Scylla’s bare chest, looked up at her through droopy eyes and pouted before determinedly stating “ ‘m awake!”_

_“Okay Pea, you’re awake,” Scylla smiled, clearly not believing she would be awake for longer than a few more minutes._

_Raelle softened at the mention of their silly nickname for each other and she settled back down, resting her head in its rightful place._

_She knew that Scylla was right. Soon she would be fast asleep, but she was determined to stay awake for as long as possible. Her girlfriend was leaving tomorrow. Well today, in a few hours, to be exact. She had a work thing or something. Raelle wasn’t entirely sure. Scylla had suddenly sprung on her last week that she had to leave to sort some things out with work and would likely be gone for a few months. She had seemed conflicted, unsure, even worried, when she had been explaining it to Raelle, and naturally Raelle had been confused and upset. But she trusted her girlfriend, so even though she was sure there was more to it than Scylla was willing to say, she had let it be. Scylla would tell her more when she could, she always did._

_Scylla had always been private and somewhat mysterious. It was one of the things that had initially attracted her to the girl but was also something that had caused problems in the relationship. They had been together for a little over a year now and Raelle had learned a lot about her. She had been through a lot of pain and lost a lot of people. She found it difficult to trust others or let them in, so she could be very guarded. Raelle understood that. However, it was still hard when Scylla would close off or keep things to herself, as though she were all alone in the world and not even Raelle could be trusted with her fragile heart._

_Raelle felt her thoughts drifting as sleep began to take over. She smiled to herself as she breathed in deeply, getting a whiff of her girlfriend’s smell. Body wash, sweat from their recent activities and deodorant all mixed with the unmistakable scent of pine and earth that was just so Scylla. She smelled like a forest and Raelle loved it. Loved that it never went away, loved that it made her remember their first meeting when Scylla had been laying beneath a big tree in the woods, loved that it was likely due to the fact that she was forever on her hands and knees digging through the dirt to find specific plants or worms or mushrooms! Loved how safe and happy it made her feel._

_Visions of talking trees and gigantic mushrooms filled Raelle’s head as she lost her battle to stay awake, but just before she drifted off completely, she heard Scylla tenderly whisper to her._

_“No matter what happens, I love you.”_

* * *

Raelle woke with a start. She sat up, instinctively reaching over to the other side of the empty bed. 

Almost every morning she had a two second window where she forgot all that had happened, and she still expected to wake up with Scylla snoring softly beside her. Then, as always, the memories came flooding back. 

It had been nine months. 

Nine months since her whole world had come crashing down. Nine months since she had kissed Scylla’s lips, since she had held her in her arms, smelled her forest scent, looked into her ocean blue eyes, heard her laugh, watched her tremble beneath her, had the chance to tell her that she loved her. 

Nine months since she had received the news that the love of her life had died. 

Raelle sighed, rubbing the sleep and tiredness from her eyes. If only she could also rub away the dreams and memories that constantly haunted her. 

During the day she was much more capable of keeping her thoughts far from Scylla. She worked herself to the bone day after day so that she would have no spare time or energy to think about anything. She knew it probably wasn’t the best way to deal with the grief, but it was a stark improvement from the first month when she had been in complete denial and had been obsessed with trying to prove that Scylla wasn’t actually dead. 

The period following that, when she had finally accepted the truth, had been even worse. For at least six weeks she had holed herself in her room, refusing to eat, to shower, to dress, to do anything other than cry and get drunk and simply exist. Her friends had somehow managed to bring her back from the brink. How they had done it she wasn’t sure. Not only because she couldn’t remember much from those dark moments, but also because she knew she had been so close to fading away completely and succumbing to the overwhelming desire to join Scylla. 

The past six months had been very different. She wasn’t sure if she was any better, if the way she threw herself into work and refused to think about anything that made her sad was a better way of coping. She thought it must be. She now spent time with her friends, she left her room every day, she was working and making a difference in the world. So what if she was completely empty? She would take feeling nothing over the misery and anguish she had been feeling. 

She and Scylla had been so happy. Raelle didn’t know she could feel such joy, especially after her mother had died. She had met Scylla less than a year after her mother’s passing and she had been so angry at the world. There had been so much pain and darkness that she couldn’t imagine being happy ever again. But Scylla had been her bright light. She had breathed life into her and made her believe in the possibility of happiness and of a future again. 

They had had their whole lives ahead of them. Everything to look forward to. Scylla had said she was going to take her to her favourite place in the world. A small secluded beach with a lighthouse that she had visited many times with her parents when she was younger. That was going to be their next adventure. 

Now, though, now there was nothing. Nothing to plan for, nothing to look forward to. Life had seemed so full of opportunities, and then in a flash there was nothing. 

A loud bang startled Raelle out of her thoughts. Suddenly the door opened, and Abigail Bellweather charged into her room. 

“Dude why are you still in bed?” the girl asked incredulously. 

Raelle’s brows knitted together in confusion. “Huh?”

“Didn’t you hear the announcement?” Abigail replied, hands on her hips. 

Raelle shrugged. 

“Really shitbird?” Abigail shook her head, but she softened slightly. “Did you take a sleeping pill again?” 

Raelle had indeed taken a sleeping pill last night. Just like she did almost every night. She may be able to keep her mind off everything when she was busy working or training during the day, but lying in bed at night, with nothing to keep her occupied, the memories always flooded back. Along with the razor-sharp pain in her heart. She had resorted to taking a sleeping pill just before her nightly shower, so that when she finally crawled into bed, she was drowsy, and sleep came easily. 

The only problem was that the pills tended to knock her out completely, making it very difficult for her to be woken up. That must have been why she had slept through the announcement that would have been broadcast to every intended room, including her own.

“Come on, Anacostia wants us in the briefing room,” Abigail told Raelle. “I’ll wait for you and we’ll head there together. That way you won’t get in shit alone!” 

Raelle gave her friend a small smile as she got out of bed and began changing into her uniform. 

Abigail was one of her Unit members at FORT, a secret government agency. FORT stood for ‘Friends Of Retribution and Truth’, and it was Raelle’s and the other agents' jobs to take down criminals who were an immediate threat to the lives of Americans. It was a sort of “shoot first and don’t ask questions ever” type of deal. Basically, they were assassins. But they were assassinating active terrorists and serial killers and other scumbags who would be out there killing others if they didn’t stop them. 

They were the good kind of assassins! 

Raelle and Abigail had gotten off to a rocky start when they first met at boot camp almost two years ago. They had been placed in the same unit and had instantly clashed. Abigail came from a rich and powerful family and had known she wanted to be an agent, just like her mother, since she was old enough to know how to want anything. She had taken the responsibility of being Unit Leader incredibly serious and had come down hard on Raelle any time she was anything less than perfect. 

Raelle, on the other hand, grew up poor and had no aspirations to be an agent. Her mother had been a war medic and it felt like she was always deployed, leaving Raelle and her Pops alone for months, and even years occasionally, on end. So, Raelle had grown up promising herself she would never go down the same route or do a job even remotely resembling a soldier. The universe clearly had other plans for her! 

The vast differences between the two girls had been a recipe for disaster. They did nothing but argue and fight for the first two months at least. But somewhere along the way things had changed. Perhaps it was being in literal life or death situations together, or being forced to share a room with each other for a year, or maybe it was their shared love for their third unit member, that made them put aside their differences and ultimately forge a friendship that was more like a sisterhood than anything else. 

“Fuck sake Rae, hurry up!” Abigail growled as Raelle struggled to do her belt up. 

They still butted heads every now and then of course! Nothing would change that. 

“Okay, okay!” Raelle managed to fix her belt and motioned for Abigail to lead the way. “After you Miss High and Mighty.”

Abigail rolled her eyes playfully and the two girls walked towards the briefing room where their Sergeant was waiting for them. 

“Do you know what the mission is?” Raelle asked. She could already feel the adrenaline pumping through her veins. She lived for missions. The more dangerous the better. If she was being shot at, her life in immediate danger, punching someone and throwing her knives, then she was happy. It was the only time she felt alive. 

“Not a clue,” Abigail replied as she picked up the pace. “And if we don’t hurry up, we will never know!” 

Raelle didn’t want to miss the briefing as that would most likely mean they would miss out on the mission and she couldn’t have that. She broke into a run, Abigail hot on her heels. 

Luckily, the meeting hadn’t quite started when the two girls entered the room, breathing heavily. Raelle scanned the room full of agents, looking for their third unit member, Tally Craven. 

Tally was sitting in the front row and she turned, smiling brightly as she waved them over.

“Why does she always sit right in the front?” Raelle groaned as they made their way over, their Sergeant, Anacostia, giving them a disapproving look. 

“Hey guys, I saved you seats,” Tally said as she pointed to the two seats on either side of her. 

“Thanks Tal,” Raelle smiled at her and sat down. 

Tally was, what some people may call, a ball of sunshine. She exuded positivity and always had a smile for anyone she came across. It had been slightly unnerving, and if Raelle was being honest, annoying, when she had first met the girl. Raelle had been in a dark place, still grieving her mother, hating the fact that she had signed up for a job so similar to the one that had taken her mother from her. 

However, Tally wasn’t someone that anyone could stay mad at. She was a genuinely kind person who knew exactly what to say and do to cheer you up. She was also a total badass who was more than capable of speaking up for herself and putting bullies in their place. It had taken less than a week for her to win Raelle over. Even Abigail, who seemed to have a problem with everyone, quickly grew very fond of her. 

“Good morning Agents,” Anacostia called out from her podium at the front of the room. 

“Good morning Sergeant,” the room responded in unison. 

Anacostia looked at them grimly before explaining why they had been called in for an emergency meeting. 

“There has been an attack on one of our bases. The whole centre has been infiltrated and been taken over by SPREE.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please leave comments and kudos if you want more chapters as this will fuel my motivation! I already have most of the story planned out and in my mind there will be about 20 chapters. 
> 
> The chapter titles are song lyrics that I feel capture the essence of each chapter. I will post the name of the song at the start of each chapter. So, for example, the lyrics used for the title of this chapter are taken from the song "Love" by Lana Del Ray. 
> 
> I have rated the story as "mature" because there will be more adult content in later chapters. I haven't added any archive warnings but if anything changes (for example, character death) then I will edit that and I will make the changes very clear.
> 
> Lastly, big shout out to Diana (gayforadrunkvalkyrie on Tumblr) for being an amazing beta reader!


	2. “everywhere i go in the shadows i see your ghost”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Silverstein - Ghost

SPREE were one of the most dangerous terrorist organisations in the country. One of FORT’s main objectives was to take down as many of their cells as possible, with the aim of dismantling the entire organisation one day soon. SPREE stood for ‘Society for People Resisting Extreme Elitism’ and the members claimed that they fought against the government’s oppression of the people. However, no one really believed that as they used techniques such as bombing venues crowded with innocent civilians, assassinating low level government officials, and causing mayhem and panic seemingly just for the fun of it.

Raelle had come across a fair share of SPREE agents over her time at FORT and every one of them had been completely barbaric and ruthless. They took no prisoners and showed no mercy. They were also very well trained. Basically, they were perfect heartless assassins. That was why FORT had to react in kind whenever they met – kill them on sight, no question or hesitation.

The news that their mission would involve SPREE was good news for Raelle, who was itching to get some action. She couldn’t wait to kick some SPREE butt!

She turned her attention back to Anacostia in time to hear her say, “It is with a heavy heart that I tell you it is likely that all our sisters and brothers are likely dead.”

A moment of silence came over the room as everyone privately paid respect for the bravery of their fellow soldiers who had almost certainly paid the ultimate price.

“Thankfully, we were able to receive communication from Private Swythe, who explained that they were ambushed in the middle of the night. Thank Goddess she did, or we would be completely unaware that the base had been compromised!”

Anacostia didn’t need to explain why that would have been so dreadful, they all understood the catastrophic repercussions that would have been caused had they continued sharing information with the base and deployed new agents there.

Raelle and her friends knew Libba Swythe as she had been at training with them last year. Raelle felt a mixture of sadness and hope swirl around in her chest as she wondered whether the girl was still alive.

“Sadly, we lost communication with Private Swythe and we do not know whether she was able to get out safely or if she was found and killed. You will all be kept informed of any new information we receive,” she looked at Abigail as she said this.

Abigail and Libba had a strange kind of relationship that Raelle had never understood. They had basically grown up together, attending the same schools, the same extra-curricular activities, and the same social events with their families. They had most definitely not been friends though. It had taken less than a week at boot camp for the two to get into a fight, which only ended without any serious injuries because Tally and a girl from Libba’s unit were successful in breaking them apart and calming them down.

When Tally had asked why exactly it was that they hated each other so much, Abigail had explained that that was simply what Bellweathers and Swythes did. Apparently there had been a fight between their great, great, great grandparents or something and the bad feelings and mistrust had been passed on through the generations. Raelle had thought it was all utterly ridiculous, especially as Abigail wasn’t even sure what the fight had been about!

Libba was sort of full on, Raelle could admit that, but so was Abigail. In truth, Raelle had thought they would get on really well if they both were willing to pull their heads out of their asses and refuse to hate each other simply because of some stupid family feud dating back centuries. Funnily enough, that was what they did.

About six months into training, something began to shift between the two. They still bickered and argued, but it seemed to be more playful than serious. Then, during the final assessment at boot camp, their two units had been put on the same team. Raelle had been worried that this would mess things up for them all as the two seemed incapable of going two minutes without arguing. She needn’t have worried though as they had ended up working together effectively. In fact, their team managed to finish in first place and they all graduated with honours.

Since graduating, Libba had been given a new unit which had been placed at a different base. This meant that the three girls rarely heard or saw from her, but Raelle knew that Abigail kept tabs on her via her mother, Petra, who was a high commanding General at FORT and had access to information on all the agents.

Raelle turned to look at Abigail to see how she was feeling. Unsurprisingly, Abigail’s face was completely void of any emotion. She simply looked back at Anacostia, seemingly waiting for the meeting to continue, as though she didn’t even know Libba Swythe or care whether she was dead or alive.

Of course, Raelle knew this wasn’t true at all. Abigail was simply great at masking her emotions. Raelle wished she could be more like that, but sadly she was the type of person who wore her heart on her sleeve, incapable of hiding how she was feeling. Her Mama had always told her that it was a good thing as it made her honest. She said that Raelle felt so much that it filled her up and overflowed, and that was why she couldn’t hide her feelings. As a child, Raelle had loved that image. She would picture all her love and joy, even her sadness and anger trickling out of her and it made her smile. But now she hated it. Hated how much she felt and how the way she cared so deeply made it so easy for her to get hurt.

Sometimes she felt like she was going mad with the intensity of her grief. She missed Scylla so much every second of every day, it was like a tattoo needle was incessantly scratching away at her heart, never letting up to allow the wound to heal. The sleepless nights and the drinking didn’t help either. She would often think she had seen her girlfriend out the corner of her eye, but when she turned to look, hope filling her heart and tears in her eyes, she would realise that, of course, it wasn’t her. There was probably a help group for brunette women with blue eyes who had been accosted in the street, or in a park, or in the middle of the mall, by a tearful woman calling them ‘Scylla’!

She had decided months ago that she was never going to make the mistake of giving her heart to anyone or anything ever again. Not now that she knew how fragile it was. First her mother was taken from her, and then, just as she had begun healing from that and had started to be happy with Scylla, she was taken from her as well. She now planned to simply coast through life until she was inevitably killed. Preferably during battle in a rage of fire and anger and glory.

Raelle once again turned her attention back to Anacostia who was explaining the logistics of each unit’s mission. Her unit had been chosen to carry out surveillance on the infiltrated base. That meant watching and making notes about who and what went in and out of the building. They would have to do this for hours and hours on end, and they would most likely be there for days.

No hand to hand combat, no throwing her knives, no being shot at, just sitting in a dingy room watching and waiting.

How disappointing!

* * *

A few hours later, Raelle, Abigail and Tally, along with another FORT unit, arrived at the hotel room they would be using for their surveillance. The room had two bedrooms with a double bed each, one bathroom, a tiny kitchen area, a torn sofa facing a basic television set, and a wobbly table with four mismatching chairs. They had stayed in far worse.

“I’ll take first shift”, Raelle muttered as she dropped her bag in one of the bedrooms and made her way to the large window overlooking the street below. The building that had once been a FORT base but was now infested with SPREE agents was on the other side of the street, giving the girls a perfect line of sight.

Abigail helped Raelle unpack their equipment and set it up. The two didn’t talk while they worked, which wasn’t unusual as Abigail tended to enter a very serious mode whenever she was on a mission. She stopped being a friend, becoming a soldier and a leader instead.

However, Raelle could tell that her friend was in some turmoil, and she was sure it was because of Libba.

“Doing alright Abs?” Raelle asked once they had finished setting up.

Abigail sighed and sat down on the window ledge, looking out at the building they would spend the next week or so watching.

“I fucking hate them,” she growled after a moment’s silence.

Raelle kept quiet, letting the girl say what she needed to.

“My mum said Libba is almost definitely dead,” Raelle noticed the slight crease in her friend’s brows and she put her hand on her shoulder, trying to comfort her but not knowing how. Tally would be better at this, but the redhead was in the kitchen chatting with one of the girls from the other unit. Apparently, they had grown up together but hadn’t known they had both been scouted by FORT until now.

Tally had been raised in a matriarchal commune where there had been no men. Abigail had laughed incredulously and called it a cult from hell when Tally had told them about it on the day they had all met at boot camp. Raelle had agreed that it was kind of weird but had to admit that she actually quite liked the idea of a man-free world.

Raelle felt Tally deserved a moment to catch up with her old friend and so decided to try and take on the role of the comforting friend that Tally usually was.

“She can’t know for sure though, she could have made it out,” she spoke quietly, hoping she was saying the right thing.

Abigail didn’t respond, so Raelle continued, “At least your mum is being more understanding about you and Libba.”

Petra Bellweather had not been happy when she learned that her daughter had befriended a Swythe, and she had tried to convince Abigail to return to their family’s natural stance of hating them all. But Abigail had stood strong and refused to be bullied into continuing the pointless feud. Her stubbornness had clearly made an impact on her mother as she had started to keep Abigail informed on how Libba was doing and had stopped trying to end the newly formed friendship.

“I guess,” Abigail responded noncommittedly. She sat in silence for a few minutes, staring at the building with a mixture of hatred and grief, then stood up and walked away.

Raelle watched her walk into one of the bedrooms and close the door behind her, and she felt her heart clench painfully for her. She hated that her friend was suffering so much. They had grown incredibly close during training and she was so relieved that Abigail had been able to convince her mother to let them remain as a unit after graduating. Having a General for a mum had a few perks!

Of course, there were other perks too. For one, Abigail had grown up knowing about FORT and had been preparing and hoping to be chosen for the program for years, meaning she started boot camp with a much higher level of skill than the others. The general population had no idea that FORT existed and would only ever learn about it if they were recruited by the agency.

When two women had introduced themselves to Raelle on her 18th birthday, just after she had finished high school, and told her about the secret test within the SATs that measured a person’s compatibility with being a government secret agent, she had thought it was a joke. It sounded like it came straight from a cheesy spy movie! But it of course hadn’t been a joke.

At first, she had had no interest in joining, but her mother had recently died, and her dad was struggling to stay afloat financially. He had had to make the decision to sacrifice his insulin so that he could pay the mortgage on their tiny house, and she had known there would be no money for her to go to college. The women had explained that the agency would help her father financially if she accepted the offer, and so she had felt there was no other option than to agree.

She hadn’t told her dad the whole truth, simply saying that she had been offered to work for the government. Her Pops wasn’t stupid though, and he knew that it wasn’t a normal job. He had begged her not to accept it, but she knew she had to. Now he had enough money to pay the mortgage and buy his insulin, with a little extra so he didn’t have to worry if he lost his job or his truck broke down. FORT had also promised to compensate him if she were to die on the job. She had made the right choice.

“Raelle, this is Glory,” Tally’s voice interrupted the girl’s thoughts.

She turned and looked at Tally’s childhood friend, “Hey.”

“Hi Raelle, it’s nice to meet you.” Glory gave her a friendly smile, “I’m happy to take this shift with you if you don’t mind.”

“Why would I mind?” Raelle asked, confused. “I don’t care who’s here, as long as they don’t expect me to engage in small talk.”

Glory’s smile wavered and she looked to Tally for help. Raelle knew she could be blunt and standoffish. She hadn’t always been this way, but recent events had made her close herself off.

Noticing the worry on Glory’s face, Raelle wanted to say something reassuring or apologise for being rude, but she couldn’t find the energy, so she said nothing. 

* * *

Three days later, Raelle was being woken up by the sound of her alarm, telling her it was time for her next shift of watching and waiting and trying not to die of boredom. The agents had been working in shifts of two, switching every four hours. They spent their shifts making notes of how many people went in and out, what kind of boxes were being delivered, and if they saw any weapons or recognised any of the SPREE members who were high enough on the ‘Wanted’ list to warrant a call to Headquarters. So far, nothing interesting at all had happened.

Raelle groaned as she turned her alarm off and got out of bed, leaving Tally softly snoring behind her. She made her way into the main living area and grabbed herself a slice of day-old pizza from the kitchen, before heading over to Abigail and one of the girls from Glory’s unit.

“Hey, guys, shifts up,” she mumbled, rubbing the sleep from her eyes.

The girl who was with Abigail let out a happy sigh, grinning thankfully at Raelle, and walked straight into the bedroom Raelle had just vacated.

“Abs, I’m here, your shift is up,” she repeated when her friend didn’t move from her spot.

“It’s alright, I’ll stay,” Abigail replied, not turning to look at Raelle.

“Oh, okay,” Raelle said with surprise. Remaining vigilant for hours at a time was tiring work and could really wipe you out. But, Raelle also knew what it was like to lie in bed with a million thoughts rushing through your head, and grief and worry pressing down on you like a weight, so she understood why Abigail may want to avoid going to bed.

“Good morning,” Glory cheerfully called out as she appeared next to Raelle. “Well actually it’s technically not morning ‘til another two minutes, so I guess I should say ‘Goodnight’!” she chuckled as she showed the girls her watch.

Raelle smiled slightly at Glory, resisting the urge to roll her eyes. She was a sweet girl, and Raelle felt bad for the way she had spoken to her when they first met. Raelle loved Tally to pieces and she knew it would have hurt her when she had been so dismissive of her childhood friend.

“Abigail, you can go to bed now,” she echoed Raelle’s earlier words.

Abigail didn’t move or respond, so Raelle spoke for her. “Abi isn’t feeling tired so she’s gonna stay. You can go back to bed if you want.”

Glory seemed to consider it but decided to stay, saying that if Abigail started to feel tired, she could go to bed and there would still be two agents on duty.

Raelle agreed that it was a good idea, and so Glory sat down at the table, making a start on writing up the report from the notes made by the last shift, while Raelle sat down next to Abigail on the window ledge. She picked up the binoculars laying between them, sighing to herself as a long shift of watching commenced. It was such boring work and Raelle had always struggled with boredom.

* * *

_Raelle watched as the raindrops trickled down the window and sighed loudly._

_There was no reaction from the girl behind her and so she sighed again, much louder this time. When she was still met with radio silence, she stood up and groaned dramatically as she stretched her arms over her head._

_“Everything okay over there?” Scylla finally asked her from the chair she was sitting on._

_Raelle turned, planting a pitiful pout on her face, making Scylla roll her eyes playfully._

_“I’m bored,” she whined. “_

_I did warn you that I had a lot of work to do today,” Scylla responded, a slight smirk on her lips. “You made the choice to come round anyway.”_

_Raelle huffed, causing Scylla to lightly chuckle and shake her head before turning back to her books._

_The two had met only a week prior but had hit it off so quickly that they were already meeting up every day. When Scylla had told her that she would be too busy to go to the museum as they had wanted to today, Raelle had been extremely disappointed. It was incredible how hard she was already falling for the mysterious brunette._

_Not one to run away from a challenge, she had offered to keep Scylla company while she worked. Scylla really did have a lot of work to do though, and so Raelle was left to entertain herself._

_It was the first time Raelle had been in Scylla’s flat though, which was a definite positive. It was a modest flat with a combined kitchen and living area, a single bedroom, and a tiny bathroom, but Raelle was sharing a dorm room with her two unit members, so to her, Scylla’s flat was like a slice of private heaven._

_Since Scylla wasn’t falling for any of her distraction techniques, Raelle decided to use the opportunity to look around the flat and try to learn more about the girl._

_She wandered over to the bookshelf by the sofa which was overflowing with all kinds of books. There were a lot on plants and insects, which didn’t surprise Raelle at all. There were also books on death, sexuality, psychology, biology, and so many other interesting topics. Clearly the girl was a bookworm!_

_Moving on, Raelle found a collection of shells by the small television set in the corner of the room, as well as a skull and a few bones of different animals scattered around the room. There didn’t seem to be any photos of anyone, which struck Raelle as slightly strange, but she was already coming to the realisation that Scylla was a very private person and perhaps this was a product of that._

_Scylla had an air of confidence and she seemed so sure of herself, but every now and then, Raelle noticed a hint of uncertainty and insecurity. She was very intriguing and Raelle wanted to learn as much about her as she could._

_In the kitchen, by the windowsill, Raelle spotted a small herb garden. It made her smile as it reminded her of her Pops who kept a little vegetable patch in his garden at home and would always keep her updated on how they were all doing whenever they called._

_“If you were a vegetable, what would you be?” she called out suddenly to Scylla, who slowly turned around and gave Raelle a quizzical look._

_“Excuse me?” she asked with a laugh._

_“If you had to choose to live as a vegetable for the rest of your life then what would you choose?” Raelle asked again, smiling as Scylla put down her book and pen._

_“What an interesting question!” she exclaimed, making Raelle feel embarrassed._

_“Sorry, it’s dumb, I know,” she began apologising._

_“No, no, it’s not dumb!” Scylla reassured her as she stood up and made her way over to Raelle in the kitchen. “I wasn’t being sarcastic. It really is an interesting question. It’s weird, sure, but what’s wrong with weird?”_

_Raelle beamed and nodded in agreement, remembering how she had just been thinking the exact same thing about Scylla’s weirdness._

_Scylla was now standing in the kitchen with Raelle and she leaned back against the counter, looking intently at the blonde. She stared at her like that for a long time and Raelle felt herself getting lost in her intense ocean blue eyes._

_Finally, Scylla broke the spell, “What would you be?”_

_“I asked you first!” Raelle answered indignantly._

_Scylla pouted dramatically and Raelle’s gaze instinctively dropped to her full lips. She allowed herself to look, not afraid of letting the girl know her attraction. Raelle had been out her whole life and wasn’t ashamed of the fact that she liked girls. She was also pretty confident as she knew she was good at pulling girls when she wanted to, so she wasn’t about to hide the fact that she was interested in Scylla. However, she didn’t like making the first move as she had been through a couple of awkward moments in high school when she had tried to kiss a girl who she had assumed was flirting with her, and had received either disgusted rage or an awkward apology in return._

_“Okay, fine, just because you’re so cute, I’ll answer first,” Raelle winked at Scylla, who quirked her eyebrow playfully in reply._

_“I would be a pea,” she declared proudly._

_“Care to explain why?” Scylla asked, seemingly genuinely interested, which made Raelle smile. She and her mum used to play these silly games all the time and she tried to play them with others, but most people thought it was childish and wouldn’t indulge her._

_“Peas are always with other peas,” she started explaining. “Like frozen peas or mushy peas or peas in a pod. They’re never eaten alone. They’re never stored or grown alone. They’re always with others.”_

_Scylla nodded. “The same could be said for corn though. Like corn on the cob, sweet corn…”_

_“Yeah but I don’t like corn!” Raelle cut her off._

_Scylla laughed loudly, “Fair enough.”_

_Raelle grinned triumphantly, clearly feeling that she had proven a very important point._

_“Well, in that case, I would be a pea too,” Scylla told her._

_“That’s cheating!” Raelle shook her head._

_“No, you just made a really good point,” Scylla replied, her hands now on her hips, not happy with being called a cheater._

_“Okay, fine, you can be a pea too!” Raelle accepted. “We can be two peas in a pod.”_

_“Two peas in a pod. I like that,” Scylla smiled softly at Raelle and Raelle felt butterflies in her stomach for the first time in her life._

* * *

“Raelle?” Glory’s voice broke her out of her memories.

She turned to look at the girl who was calling her. “Huh?”

“I asked if you wanted to swap,” Glory tentatively said. “If you want a break from surveillance then I’m happy to take over and you can write up the report.”

“No, I’m fine here,” Raelle answered.

“Yeah sure, no, you don’t have to, sorry, I just wanted to offer,” Glory stumbled over her words.

Had Raelle really been that scary and mean over the last few days with the poor girl?

“I just hate writing reports,” she tried to explain, hoping the girl understood she wasn’t meaning to be unkind.

Glory nodded and looked down at the papers on the desk.

“Actually, could you do me a favour?” Raelle asked.

Glory looked up hopefully, “Of course!”

“I need a piss, so can you cover for me a minute?” The agents usually didn’t go to the toilet during their four hour shift as they were supposed to have two people watching the building at all times, but seeing as Abigail had decided to stay and make it a three person shift, Raelle decided it could be allowed.

Plus, it gave Raelle a chance to offer an olive branch of some kind to Glory who seemed to really want to help her for some reason.

“Sure, no worries, take your time,” Glory smiled and stood up to take over.

Abigail had been silent throughout the exchange, her focus on the mission never wavering. But just as Raelle reached the bathroom, she heard Abigail quietly exclaim, “What the fuck?!”

Raelle’s hand stilled inches from the door handle. She looked back at her friend, “What is it?”

Abigail replied with the last word Raelle would ever have expected.

“Scylla.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to all who commented and left kudos, it means the world to me! 
> 
> I hope you liked this chapter as well. We will be seeing things from Scylla's point of view next chapter (finally!)
> 
> Please comment and leave kudos if you want the story to continue. 
> 
> As always, massive thanks to Diana my beta reader who takes my rambled mess and turns it into something cohesive!!


	3. “down in a hole, losing my soul”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alice in Chains - Down In A Hole

Scylla wiped the sweat from her forehead as she put down the large box she had been carrying. A new delivery of weapons had recently arrived, and Scylla had been charged with unloading them all from the truck. It was physically challenging work, but Scylla didn’t mind, especially as it meant she got some time to herself. The agents here were far too chatty for her liking.

“All done?” a voice asked as Scylla stretched her aching back.

“Yeah, that was the last one,” she replied.

A tall lean woman with bushy auburn hair stood with her arms crossed and nodded approvingly. “Good,” she said to Scylla, “I have something I want to show you. Come with me.”

The woman turned and walked towards the stairs in the corner of the large warehouse. Scylla dutifully followed behind. She was led up the stairs, down a corridor and into a small room which was currently being used as an office.

Scylla remained standing as the woman sat behind her desk, silently watching Scylla with a slight smirk playing on her lips.

“Wasn’t there something you wanted to show me?” Scylla asked exasperatedly, already feeling fed up with the woman’s antics.

The woman tutted disapprovingly before replying, “Now, now Scylla, that’s no way to speak to your superior, is it?”

“Fuck off Beth,” Scylla bit back, unable to contain her annoyance.

Scylla had met Beth many years ago when she was living on the street. She had just run away from her foster home, unable to put up with the packed house, the crying children, abusive father, and drunk mother any longer. Her parents had died two years prior, when she was only 12, and she had already been through four other foster homes. None of them ever worked out and so she had decided to try and make it on her own.

On her third day of living on the streets, when she was shivering and crying and thinking that she had made a huge mistake, Beth found her. She was only a few months older than Scylla but had been living on the streets off and on again for years and so was a lot more knowledgeable and street smart. She had taken Scylla under her wing and shown her the best places to sleep, taught her how to pick pockets, and helped her survive.

Less than a year later, Scylla had been approached by SPREE. The man who spoke to her claimed that her parents had been killed by a government agency called FORT because they were believed to be terrorists. Her parents had always been very involved in politics and social justice, often going to protests and rallies, and speaking out about certain government policies, but that didn’t make them terrorists!

When her parents had been shot walking home one night, just outside their home where Scylla was watching television, the police had told her that it was a mugging gone wrong. However, the man from SPREE had insisted that they had actually been assassinated.

He also told her that they had been trying to find her for years but because she had constantly been moving from foster home to foster home, and had recently been living on the streets, they had failed. Beth had always made them move somewhere new every other week so that the social workers never found them, and this had apparently made it very difficult for SPREE to find her too.

Scylla had already been in such a dark place, but the news that the government purposefully killed her parents had overwhelmed her with a rage so intense she had been sure she would explode.

Consequently, when the man proffered her a place at SPREE so that she could take down the people who murdered her parents, she had instantly agreed.

How could she have said no to that offer?

She had asked if her friend Beth could join as well, as she had become very reliant on her and she didn’t want to leave her behind. Not after everything she’d done for Scylla. Beth had jumped at the chance and the two joined the organisation together. They trained together, learned how to fire a gun together, gone on group missions together, risen up the ranks together.

However, the relationship between them had started shifting soon after they joined SPREE. Scylla had, for some reason, been able to pick things up quicker than Beth had. Her shot was more accurate, her reflexes quicker, and she always beat Beth in one-on-one training sessions. Then, Scylla was given her first solo mission before Beth, and Beth had been furious, telling her that they were only giving her a mission out of pity because her parents had died fighting for the cause.

When Scylla had failed her mission, returning without her target, she was stripped of her rank and was made to start back at the bottom. Beth, on the other hand, had been promoted to Corporal.

“I’m sorry, Corporal,” Scylla said through gritted teeth. She knew she needed to be careful as she was still on thin ice with SPREE. Her first solo mission had been to bring in a FORT agent named Raelle to join their cause. It had started well, with Scylla quickly befriending Raelle and successfully gaining her trust. But then, something happened.

Raelle happened.

It had been obvious to Scylla right from the start that Raelle was hurting. She had been through a lot and was filled with grief, but underneath all her fire and anger, there was a kindness and a softness that reached out and touched Scylla’s soul. She had found herself falling for Raelle early on; genuinely enjoying her company, missing her when they were apart, feeling happy and safe when they were lying in bed together.

She had managed to convince herself that it wasn’t a big deal and that she could still take her in. After all, the plan had been for her to join SPREE and then when she did, they could be together without all the secrets and lies.

However, as time went on, Scylla had become unsure. She hadn’t been able to be certain that SPREE wanted Raelle to work as an agent for them. Perhaps they wanted to torture her for information or kill her as an example. It was unlikely as she had just been a Cadet who was still in basic training, but Scylla had realised that she couldn’t risk it. She had been forced to make a choice. SPREE or Raelle.

She chose Raelle.

The plan had been to reach out to friends of her parents who they befriended during their years protesting around the country and beg them to help her. She knew that some of her parents’ friends had been involved in smuggling refugees into the country, forging passports, hiding them, keeping them safe, and so she had decided they could help her and Raelle smuggle out of the country. It had been a half-baked, desperate plan. One that, even if it somehow worked, she hadn’t been sure Raelle would even agree to.

Her plan was thwarted before she could even start it. The day she had left Raelle to make contact with a couple in Alabama who she had managed to track down after weeks of searching, her car was stopped and she was forced out and into a truck by a group of SPREE members.

Unsurprisingly, SPREE had been keeping track of her every movement and when they had seen that she was leaving the area and driving in the opposite direction of the base she reported to, they had believed that she was trying to run away. She had of course denied it, knowing what they did to quitters and traitors.

They had taken her back to SPREE Headquarters where she was severely punished for several months. She had only learned much later that they had made it look like Scylla died in a car crash so that anyone who had known her during her time undercover wouldn’t look for her.

Including Raelle.

The thought of Raelle grieving her, hurting from yet another loved one being taken from her, broke Scylla’s heart every time she thought about it. She didn’t know if SPREE were still working on bringing Raelle in. She had only recently been allowed to start active work again and she was being kept in the dark about pretty much everything as she had been relegated to the bottom of the pile, forced to do all the dirty and dangerous runt work until she could prove herself trustworthy again.

Beth revelled in the fact that she was now a higher rank than Scylla and took every opportunity she could to rub it in the girl’s face. Thankfully, they hadn’t seen much of each other as Beth now usually worked in New York at the organisation’s Headquarters whilst Scylla was moved around the country, taken wherever she was needed. Unfortunately, the two had been placed on the same mission this time, with Beth officially being in charge and Scylla having to answer to her at all times.

Scylla was sure this was part of her ongoing punishment.

“We’ve gathered information that tells us there are FORT operatives hiding out and watching us from the hotel across the street,” Beth told Scylla.

“Okay,” Scylla responded, unsure why Beth felt this was something she needed to share with her. They had assumed that FORT would have sent agents to watch them and try to gather intel on them. In fact, they had relied on this. One of the main reasons why they had taken down this FORT base was so that all eyes would be on them, allowing their agents on the other side of the state to carry out the important mission.

The fact that Beth was telling Scylla this put her on edge. She knew that there was more to come, and deep down she knew what it was. She knew that Raelle must be one of the agents in the hotel.

It shouldn’t be too surprising. Raelle would have graduated by now and would be going on missions, and now that Scylla was back on active duty with SPREE, they were bound to cross paths sooner or later. Scylla just hadn’t expected it to be this soon!

She hated that Raelle was part of FORT. Always had. Before she had met the girl, she had hated her, just as she had hated every FORT agent and every government worker. They were all the same in her mind. Corrupt, evil, cold-blooded murderers.

Of course, being with Raelle, falling in love with her, changed her perspective somewhat. But she still hated that she worked for them. It was something they argued about a lot.

* * *

_You don’t understand!” Raelle sighed, rubbing her temples as she felt a headache coming on._

_“Well, why don’t you enlighten me then?” Scylla retorted, crossing her arms and giving her girlfriend an expectant look._

_Raelle sighed again. Despite the fact that she was technically sworn to secrecy, she had told Scylla about FORT, or at least told her bits about FORT, a few weeks ago. They were becoming a serious item and she had been feeling so guilty about the half lies and the skirting of the truth that she had been doing for the last few months whenever Scylla asked her about her work or her friends._

_Scylla hadn’t reacted as Raelle had expected when she told her that she was being trained by a secret government agency to become a spy of sorts. She had believed her straight away, which was surprising in itself, as it really did sound like the imaginings of a ten-year-old who had just finished reading the entire Alex Rider series!_

_She had also been incredibly negative about it right from the start. There were no questions about what it entailed, what she did, what it would mean when she finished her training. Nothing. Just negativity._

_This was already their third disagreement about it in two weeks._

_“I told you, Scyl, we really help people at FORT,” Raelle responded, sitting down on the sofa in the middle of Scylla’s lounge._

_Scylla remained standing and scoffed, “Oh come on Rae, who, who are you helping?”_

_Raelle raised her eyebrows and forced herself to calm down. Scylla didn’t understand what it was that they did. How could she?_

_“I don’t understand why you’re so negative about it!” Raelle said, half wishing she had never told Scylla about FORT in the first place. “You don’t even know anything about it.”_

_“I know enough,” Scylla was getting agitated. She hated that Raelle was working with FORT, working with the agency who twisted the truth. With the organisation who tortured innocent people. With the group of people who killed her parents._

_“I know they prey on young, poor, unfortunate people, many of whom are just leaving school, and basically buy them, forcing them to work for them whilst shoving lies down their throat,” Scylla was shouting now, tears in her eyes._

_She knew that FORT had basically done this to Raelle as the blonde had explained to her how they had promised to take care of her dad if she joined them. She also knew that they had lied and continued to lie to her, because there were things that Raelle had told her that Scylla knew for a fact were not true. It made her so angry that they were able to manipulate and use innocent people the way they were, but in some ways it made her feel relieved as it cemented her belief that Raelle was a good person. She wasn’t like the leaders of FORT who were heartless and barbaric. She was a kind, caring girl with a massive heart who was simply being controlled._

_She wished Raelle knew the truth. She wanted more than anything to tell her what FORT really was. What they had done. But then she would have to tell her about herself, about SPREE, about her mission._

_“I know that you’re just another pawn to them. They don’t care about you. They’ll just use you and use you until you die or if you’re lucky they’ll throw you away when you’re broken,” Scylla continued, unable to stop the words spilling out of her mouth._

_Raelle looked shocked at Scylla’s outburst of emotions. She stood up and walked over to her girlfriend, cautiously reaching for her hands._

_Scylla trembled slightly as she fought down the sobs threatening to rack her body._

_“Scyl, it’s okay,” Raelle whispered softly. She held one of her hands and brought it to her lips and gently kissed it._

_“It’s not!” Scylla replied, stepping back from Raelle, trying to pull her hand free, but Raelle held on tighter, refusing to let her go._

_Stepping forward, removing the space Scylla had just created, Raelle spoke softly, “Pea, look at me.”_

_Scylla closed her eyes and tried to regain her composure. Taking a deep breath, she opened her eyes and looked into the strikingly blue eyes of her girlfriend. Raelle smiled tenderly at her, and instinctively Scylla smiled back._

_“I’m sorry,” Scylla breathed out._

_“I’m sorry too,” Raelle whispered, holding onto Scylla’s other hand and stepping even closer._

_“I just hate the thought of you getting hurt,” Scylla explained, interlocking their fingers. There was more to it than that, but Scylla was surprised to realise that that was the biggest fear for her now. Of course, she was scared that her lies would be found out, or that she would fail to get revenge for her parents’ murders, but most of all she was petrified that Raelle would go on a mission and never return._

_“I know,” Raelle understood that fear. She had lived in fear when her mum was in the army. “But I’m still in basic training. I don’t get sent out on missions and I’ll probably end up doing a desk job or working in the infirmary anyway, so I’ll never be in danger.”_

_Scylla sighed. She knew Raelle was bullshitting her. Sure, she was technically still training, but Scylla had personally encountered FORT agents in the field who were even younger than Raelle was now, so she knew they sent kids out before they had graduated._

_Raelle could, at any time, be deployed and ordered to kill people. People like Scylla._

_“Scyl, I promise you that you won’t be getting rid of me so easily,” Raelle joked when Scylla didn’t respond. “I’m going to be turning up at your place unannounced, eating all your food, asking you inane questions, begging for piggybacks, stealing the blanket in the night, braiding your hair, singing made up songs, kissing you with my morning breath, and fucking you in every conceivable surface in your apartment for a long time to come!”_

_She grinned at Scylla who was shaking her head with a smile._

_“You’re such a weirdo,” Scylla chuckled._

_“You’re the weird one!” Raelle rebutted._

_“Sexy weird though, right?” Scylla joked, reminding Raelle of their first meeting._

_“Sexy weird for sure,” Raelle agreed. She touched their foreheads together, returning to her serious tone. “I’m in this with you, okay? Nothing and no one is going to come between us.”_

_Scylla felt tears build up in her eyes and she blinked rapidly to keep them at bay. She wished with all her heart that a future with Raelle was possible. Wished more than anything that she could be happy. But it was impossible. She hadn’t felt true happiness since her parents had died. Something inside her had died along with them and she had closed her heart off in response. The harshness of the various foster homes she had lived in and the experience of being homeless hadn’t helped. She had seen the worst of people, seen how evil they could truly be._

_SPREE had given her a purpose and a reason to live after being empty for so long. She believed in the cause and she wanted to avenge her parents. But something inside her was changing. Being with Raelle was changing her. Her hardened heart was softening, and she was beginning to wonder if there was more to life than revenge and fighting and killing and hiding and hating. What if she could love again? She knew she was falling hard for Raelle, but she also knew that Raelle would never love her if she knew the real her. She had been stuck in a dark hole for too long and she had lost herself. There was no hope for her._

_Clearing her throat, forcing the fears and doubts and overwhelming sadness away, she smiled at Raelle who was watching her intently with a concerned look on her face._

_“You’re right,” Scylla said, pulling away slightly from Raelle but keeping their fingers interlocked between them. “The only thing I actually have to worry about is High Atlantic killing me during our camping trip!”_

_Raelle smiled, but it didn’t reach her eyes. Scylla knew that Raelle knew she was deflecting, and she was worried that Raelle would try to push and make Scylla talk more about why she had become so upset and how she seemed to know so much about FORT, forcing her to either lie to her girlfriend or expose the darkness inside her._

_Thankfully, Raelle allowed the change of topic. She gave Scylla a peck on the lips and joked back, “Oh, for sure! You’re going to have to be on high alert this weekend!”_

* * *

Scylla was back in the present, the memories fading away as Beth continued to speak.

“I need to know that you will be okay executing this mission,” Scylla heard her old friend say.

“Why wouldn’t I be?” she asked, knowing but refusing to believe the truth.

Beth didn’t say anything. She simply picked up a photo that was lying on the table and turned it over.

Scylla looked down, knowing already what she was going to be faced with.

Raelle.

She was sitting in the window of the hotel over the road, looking out in the direction of the very base Scylla was in right now.

She looked so different and yet somehow looked exactly the same. She had dyed her hair black and was wearing much darker makeup than she had when Scylla had known her.

But her blue eyes were the same, the way she was biting her lip in concentration was the same.

Scylla’s heart clenched painfully but she somehow managed to school her features and remain impassive.

“I still don’t understand,” Scylla responded, careful to keep her voice as level as possible.

When SPREE had captured Scylla and punished her for failing her mission, they had simply assumed that she had wanted to run away from SPREE because she was scared, or because she had switched sides and joined the enemy. They had never suspected that it was all because of Raelle. She planned to keep them in the dark over that for as long as possible.

Beth smirked, making Scylla’s stomach turn. Something told her that she was aware of Scylla’s feelings for Raelle. If that was true, then she wouldn’t put it past her hurting Raelle just to get at Scylla. The thought alone had Scylla biting the inside of her cheek to stop herself from lashing out.

“Well, we plan on attacking tonight. There are only six of them and they are all as young as this one here,” Beth pointed at the picture of Raelle. “So, I need to make sure that you’re going to follow orders.”

Scylla felt her heart miss a beat. Why were they attacking? She had assumed that the plan was to behave normally and pretend they didn’t know they were being watched until the real mission had proven a success.

She forced herself to remain calm and, not trusting her voice, she nodded her head at Beth in affirmation.

“Good, because the orders are shoot to kill.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the long wait again, I'm constrained by my work, uni, and just life in general, and also by my amazing beta reader's work, uni and life!! Thankfully, the next chapter won't (shouldn't anyway) take as long. 
> 
> As always, thank you for all comments and kudos on my last chapter. Please continue commenting and liking as it really does make such a difference to my enthusiasm and drive to keep writing.


	4. "there's just too much that time cannot erase"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Evanescence - My Immortal

The room was eerily quiet. Tally, Abigail, and Raelle sat at the table, none of them saying a word. Raelle was glaring at Abigail and Abigail was glaring right back. Tally was, as always, stuck in the middle, refusing to pick sides and trying to bring her two friends back together.

When Abigail had exclaimed that she could see Scylla, Raelle had ran across the room and taken the binoculars from her, searching frantically for her familiar face. She had indeed seen a girl outside, guarding the truck of new weapons that had been brought in, but she had been blonde and far too tall to be Scylla.

Raelle had been furious with Abigail for playing such a twisted joke on her. Her shouts had woken up Tally and the other girls who came running in to see what the commotion was.

After several minutes, Tally had managed to calm the two girls down and get the story out of them. Abigail had insisted that she had seen Scylla but that she must have gone back inside the building by the time Raelle had reached the window, whereas Raelle simply refused to even entertain the idea that Abigail wasn’t lying.

Tally had told the girls from the other unit to go out and get some food so that she could sort the whole mess out. But it had been several minutes since then and Tally wasn’t getting anywhere with them.

Suddenly, Raelle huffed and stood up.

“If you’re not going to apologise, then I’m out of here,” she spat at Abigail.

“Me? Apologise?” Abigail scoffed.

“Yes, you!” Raelle had had enough. Her voice steadily rose until she was shouting at Abigail. “You’re the one who thought it would be hilarious to prank me with the idea that not only is my dead girlfriend alive and well, but also in cahoots with a fucking terrorist organisation!”

Throwing her chair out of the way, Raelle stormed out of the room.

“Raelle, wait, please!” Tally called after her, but Raelle simply slammed the door shut behind her in reply.

Tally sighed sadly and turned to look at Abigail.

Abigail noticed the frown on her friend’s face, and she gaped in horror. “You think I’m lying too, don’t you?”

“No…” Tally started to say.

“You do!” Abigail interrupted in astonishment.

Tally paused, carefully choosing her words, “I don’t think you’re lying Abi. I think you really believe you saw Scylla…”

“I did!” Abigail interrupted her again.

“But just think about the logistics of that for a second,” Tally continued. “Scylla died. We had a funeral. Her aunt identified the body. Her personal items were shown to Raelle and she recognised them.”

All those things could be faked though. FORT often falsified the deaths of their agents, and if they were capable of doing so then SPREE were too.

Abigail opened her mouth to argue this point, but Tally stopped her.

“Listen, if you are one thousand per cent sure that you saw Scylla, then fine. I will stand beside you and we will take it to HQ,” Abigail nodded, happy to hear that her friend would back her up. “But if there is even one tiny part of you that has a single ounce of doubt then please reconsider.”

Abigail frowned, but allowed Tally to continue her speech.

“Think about Raelle. Think how hard this would be for her. How it would break her if her hopes were raised just for them to be dashed. Not to mention how confusing it would be for her to think that her dead girlfriend is actually a living terrorist. I don’t think she would come back from it. You see how much she drinks. How ready she is for a fight. How little she talks or sleeps. Don’t break her even more. Please.”

Abigail looked down in shame. She had been so focused on feeling outraged that her friends would think she could stoop so low as to play such a horrid prank, that she hadn’t thought about how much this must be hurting and confusing Raelle.

“Fuck,” she said guiltily. “As always Tal, you’re absolutely right.”

Tally smiled gently and took her friend’s hand in her own.

“I’m sorry,” Abigail muttered, feeling awful at how badly she had fucked up.

“You didn’t mean to hurt anyone, you were doing what you thought was right,” Tally consoled her. “But it’s not me you need to apologise to.”

Abigail looked up and nodded her head, “Yeah, I’ll go find Raelle now. Thanks Tal.”

Tally watched Abigail leave the room with a small smile, glad that her friends were going to be okay.

She walked over to the window and sighed tiredly, “Guess it’s my turn to keep watch again.”

* * *

Scylla walked out of the room, her head held high and her steps carefully blasé.

She had, of course, told Beth that the mission wouldn’t be a problem for her, that she had learned her lesson and she was now completely loyal to SPREE.

Her calm façade remained intact even as she walked into her bedroom. Though the room was empty, with all the operatives who shared the sleeping quarters being out and about, working tirelessly for the cause, she didn’t allow her mask to slip.

It wasn’t until she had opened the window next to her bed and climbed out to sit on the roof that she let out a shaky breath and placed her head in her hands.

Her heart was beating too fast and her hands were shaking. She knew a panic attack was upon her and she forced herself to focus on her breathing.

In for four. Hold for four. Out for eight.

It was a technique that her parents had taught her years ago whenever she began to get anxious. As a child she had suffered from anxiety a lot. Especially in crowded areas. It all stemmed from the one time she got separated from her parents while they were at a protest and had been engulfed by the crowd. She had only been four. It had taken her parents over an hour to finally find her and when they did, she was lying on the ground, curled in a ball and tears streaming down her face. A group of teenagers had found her and tried to help her, but she had screamed at them, so they had simply created a human barricade around her. Her parents had picked her up, managing to soothe her quickly, and she had been fine. But, ever since that incident, Scylla had always felt anxious and fearful in crowds. So, her parents had taught her to be aware of her emotions and stop them engulfing her. She used the tactic now as she tried to not break down.

What was she going to do?

She couldn’t harm Raelle. That wasn’t even an option.

But if she refused to take part in the raid then SPREE would never forgive her. They wouldn’t let her get away with it twice.

Perhaps they would kill her for her insubordination. Scylla had heard stories of agents who asked to leave or refused to follow orders and then mysteriously going missing, their bodies washing up in various places around the country days later.

Truthfully, though, Scylla wasn’t afraid of being killed. In fact, in some ways, death would be a welcome relief.

Scylla was much more worried about SPREE realising how precious Raelle was to her. The first time she came back from the failed mission she had managed to convince them that it was nothing to do with her pretend girlfriend. She hadn’t failed in order to save her. It was completely unrelated. But if she denied this mission then they would know. And they would take Raelle and use her to punish Scylla and make an example of her for anyone else who was even thinking about disobeying orders.

They may have wanted Raelle for her powers and skills before and maybe they still did. But Scylla couldn’t risk them not killing her just because they may still want to use her.

Sighing in frustration and despair, Scylla looked out at the empty gravel car park overrun with weeds. Suddenly another thought entered her mind, causing her even more anxiety.

Were Raelle’s friends in the hotel across the street too?

She knew that they had been trying to remain as a unit once they graduated from boot camp, and Abigail Bellweather usually got her way so it was most likely that they would be together.

That made matters even more difficult. She couldn’t harm them either. Not only because she couldn’t bear to cause Raelle any more pain by taking more loved ones from her, but also because she had grown fond of Tally, and even Abigail, when she had been undercover.

How Scylla wished she could turn back time. But to when? To when she was with Raelle and she would run away with her? Or back to when SPREE contacted her so she could say no? Or all the way back to when her parents were still alive and somehow save them?

Even if she were somehow able to leave SPREE and Raelle could leave FORT, she knew that Raelle would never forgive her. Too much had happened. No amount of time passed, or apologies made, or tears shed, could erase the pain that her choices had caused.

* * *

_Scylla stood to attention and waited for one of the two women in front of her to tell her why she had been called in to this meeting._

_One of the women was sat behind a large desk, looking through some paperwork. She was one of the training officers at the base and had trained Scylla and Beth during their first year with SPREE. The other woman, who Scylla had never met before but knew was someone of importance given the colour of her armband, was standing to the side of the desk and hadn’t taken her eyes from Scylla since she had walked in._

_“Scylla Ramshorn,” her training officer addressed her, still looking down at some notes on her desk. “You have been with us for four years, correct?”_

_“Three and a half years, yes Ma’am,” Scylla responded._

“ _I see you have been a useful asset to us on recent missions,” the woman looked up at Scylla expectantly. Agreeing would be arrogant and denying it would make her seem unsure of herself, so she remained silent, waiting for the woman to continue._

_“You came to us an angry child, but you have learned to control your anger and use it for good,” she paused as she looked Scylla over. “We are pleased with your performance.”_

_“Thank you, Ma’am,” Scylla responded simply, waiting for the real purpose of the meeting._

_“We believe you are ready for your first solo mission.”_

_Scylla wasn’t entirely surprised. She knew that she had been impressing her superiors throughout the years. Recently she had been going on two-person missions with the more senior agents. On her third mission, less than a month ago, she had taken a life for the first time._

_The agent with her on that mission had been impressed by Scylla’s reaction. Or nonreaction. She had praised Scylla for not crying or throwing up, but for simply getting through it and putting it past her._

_The truth was very different though._

_Scylla had cried and she had thrown up. But she had simply been wise enough to wait until she had been alone to do so. She was well aware of how much SPREE hated weakness and how much they wanted their agents to be cold and ruthless. So, while images of the dead man’s eyes looking up at her in surprise as the life slowly drained from them haunted Scylla’s dreams every night, she kept it all to herself._

_“Thank you, Ma’am,” Scylla repeated, forcing a small smile onto her lips._

_She supposed that she should be happy. At aged 19, she was one of the youngest agents to be trusted with a solo mission and she knew that she should feel proud of herself for that at least. And in a way she was._

_She was definitely proud that she was one step closer to avenging her parents’ deaths._

_But she wasn’t happy. Not truly happy. She supposed that she never would be again._

_The woman who had been standing beside the desk, silently watching Scylla throughout the meeting, suddenly stepped forward. Scylla focused her attention back to the room and looked dutifully at her._

_“Your mission is a basic one,” the woman began speaking. “There is a target who we want to bring to our side.”_

_Scylla nodded. That was a common first mission for agents and seemed easy enough._

_“She is currently training at FORT,” the woman continued, surprising Scylla who slightly raised her eyebrows._

_“Yes, I know it’s unorthodox,” the woman smiled, noticing Scylla’s shock. “But we believe she will make a brilliant SPREE agent and we want her. Your objective is to befriend her, help her see FORT for what it really is, and bring her to us.”_

_Scylla nodded her head again. It didn’t sound too difficult._

_The woman handed her a photograph and Scylla looked down to see a young woman, about her age, with short blonde hair, part of which was in braids, wearing a flannel shirt. She was smiling at someone beyond the picture, her eyes shining a dazzling blue. She looked so happy and carefree. And beautiful._

_“Her name is Raelle Collar,” the woman continued. “She is 18 and joined Fort a few weeks ago. We had hoped to get to her before she was approached but things didn’t work out.”_

_Scylla forced herself to look away from the photograph, surprised at how the girl’s blue eyes remained in her mind’s eye even as she focused back on the meeting._

_“You will be put undercover in two weeks. Follow her, learn what you can, and then make sure you meet. We will be in touch and you will update us on your progress every week. Understood?”_

_“Yes, Ma’am,” Scylla responded, her heart beginning to beat harder than usual as the reality began to settle in. She was going on an undercover mission all by herself!_

_“Good,” there was a small pause as the woman looked at her intently. “This is a simple enough mission, but it is an important one.”_

_Scylla looked back down at the picture, wondering why someone in such a high position cared so much. But she didn’t dwell on it. She was determined to do a good job._

_“I won’t fail you,” she declared confidently._

_“Make sure that you don’t.”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Much quicker update this time round. I will try to keep them coming at this sort of speed, but cannot promise anything. 
> 
> If you are enjoying the story please feed me by leaving kudos and comments. 
> 
> And as always, Diana, my beta reader is fantastic and I love her!


	5. "fighting from different sides, trying to save it tonight"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Courtney Act - Fight for Love

“Is everyone ready?” Beth asked the team of twenty, about to head off on their newest mission.

“Yes, Ma’am,” came the chorus of voices from the SPREE agents.

“Ramshorn, I asked if you were ready,” Beth had noticed Scylla’s silence and decided not to let it slide.

Scylla gritted her teeth and fought the urge to roll her eyes. “Yes, Ma’am, I’m ready.”

“Good,” Beth smiled at her with obvious relish.

She kept looking at Scylla as she addressed the whole team again, “You all know the orders. Shoot to kill anyone who stands in the way of capturing Collar, but make sure she is brought back to me alive.”

Scylla made sure to keep her face completely neutral at these words. Beth had deliberately left out the part where Raelle wasn’t to be killed when she had told her about the mission earlier.

_What a bitch._

“Okay, Beta team go,” Beth ordered and the first group of ten quickly and quietly made their way out of the warehouse and across the road towards the hotel.

Their job was to go around to the back of the hotel in case there were any extra FORT operatives that SPREE were unaware of. They would take them out so that Scylla and her team could accomplish the mission with no surprises. 

30 seconds later, Beth ordered Scylla’s team to head out too.

Clad in black, blending into the night, they silently crossed the road and began their ascent of the fire escape at the side of the hotel.

Raelle and her friends were staying in rooms on the fifth floor and the fire escape would bring Scylla and her team to the hallway only a few doors down from them.

When they reached the fifth floor, Scylla watched as two agents expertly cut the glass from the door and the smaller of the two climbed through, opening the door for the rest of them.

As the team crept down the hallway, their weapons drawn, getting ever closer to the unassuming FORT agents, Scylla struggled to keep her heartbeat normal.

She felt dizzy.

In some ways she was excited as she knew she was going to see Raelle for the first time in almost a year.

But mostly, she was scared. She needed her plan to work perfectly if she had any hope of saving Raelle and her friends. And herself.

* * *

Raelle was sitting at the table as Abigail kept watch at the window, taking notes every few minutes. They had been sitting in silence on their shift for over two hours. It wasn’t an uncomfortable silence, but there was definitely still awkwardness in the air.

Abigail had managed to find Raelle after the blonde had stormed out of the room. She had apologised for the pain she had caused her friend, and while Raelle was still angry, deep down she knew that Abigail hadn’t done what she did out of spite. She also admitted to herself that if Abigail really did think she had seen Scylla then telling Raelle about it was the right thing to do. She would rather have been told than Abigail keep it a secret from her. The three of them never kept secrets from each other. Not anymore.

“Raelle, I think someone is coming,” Abigail suddenly spoke out, looking through her binoculars out onto the street below.

“What?” Raelle asked, getting up and quickly making her way over to the window. She held out her hand, silently asking for the binoculars.

She scanned the area and saw movement on the street. It was only the briefest movement and could have been nothing. A fox, a trick of the light, a plastic bag blowing in the wind.

But it might have been SPREE, and they couldn’t take any chances.

“Wake the others,” Raelle quietly said to Abigail who instantly went and woke up the other four girls, quickly explaining the situation.

“How did they know we were here?” Glory asked, her eyes wide and full of worry.

“We don’t know for sure that they do,” Abigail responded as Tally gave her friend a comforting squeeze on the shoulder. “But we need to be prepared just in case.”

“What’s the plan?” one of the girls from the other unit asked.

Abigail took a few seconds, clearly strategizing in her head, before addressing them all. “Okay, Glory, you take your unit out the window and get to the van, then contact HQ to fill them in.

Glory nodded and signalled her unit members to get the rope ready so that they could abseil down the side of the hotel onto the street and to safety.

“Tally, Raelle, and I will stay here. Our aim will be to apprehend them and bring them in,” she paused and looked at Glory seriously. “If we are not with you in 10 minutes then you need to leave and drive to base, okay?”

Glory glanced at Tally. She wanted to refuse those orders, but a reassuring smile and nod from the redhead was enough to force her to squish her worries and focus on her job.

“Okay,” she finally tore her gaze from Tally’s and looked back at Abigail. “10 minutes, then we leave.”

The unit were packed and ready to leave in less than two minutes. Glory wished the remaining three girls good luck and gave Tally a quick hug before following her friends down the building.

“Okay, let’s do this,” Raelle smiled, her adrenaline starting to kick in.

Abigail pulled out her two Beretta 93R machine pistols from their holsters, grinning back at her friend, “Fuck yeah!”

Tally rolled her eyes at their antics.

Raelle and Abigail had always enjoyed the physical side of their work. Tally enjoyed shooting her arrows. She was a surprisingly incredible shot, her aim almost perfect, and she really liked her bow which was decorated with patterns and shapes she had carved herself.

But she didn’t enjoy having to hurt or kill people. For her, this was definitely the worst part of her job.

“Please calm down, and please no more of your ridiculous competition,” she basically begged her friends.

“That’s not fair,” Raelle pouted, running her fingers over her bullwhip.

Most people at FORT used guns, like Abigail, but there was no rule about it and so a few of the agents chose different weapons. Tally had her compound bow and arrows, and Raelle had her bullwhip. Her friends had teased her for hours when she told them she was choosing to use a whip, but they stopped laughing the second she used it in front of them!

“Yeah Tally, let us have our fun!” Abigail gave her friend her best puppy dog eyes. Tally just laughed and shook her head. She knew that nothing she said would stop them anyway, so what was the point?

“I think that’s her blessing,” Raelle grinned. “Which means you’re going down!”

“Bitch please,” Abigail retorted, “I’m on 12 and you’re only on 5.”

“That’s arrests, we’re not competing for arrests,” Raelle argued back.

“Yes, we are.”

“No, we’re not.”

“Yes, we…”

“Oh, for the love of all that is good in this world would you two please shut up?” Tally interrupted them. “We need to focus on the mission at hand, or we will all be shot in the head before we even register that we have company!”

“Sorry Tally,” both girls muttered in unison.

“Plus, I’m gonna kick both your butts!” Tally winked, drawing a bow and aiming it at the door.

* * *

Agent Wilkins had been put in charge of the mission that night. She was a stern older woman who had always seemed to dislike Scylla, but the girl could not let the old hag distract her from her goal. She needed everything to go absolutely perfectly if she had any hope of everyone getting out alive whilst not giving herself away.

Scylla hoped and prayed, to who she didn’t know, that Raelle or one of the girls had noticed her running across the street as she had discreetly shone her torch at their window. If not, then they could all be dead within a minute.

Wilkins paused at room 58, behind which they knew Raelle and the others were, and held out a clenched fist. The nine agents dutifully stopped and waited for further instructions.

“After I break down the door, Ramshorn and Lisulo enter immediately,” Scylla knew she would be the first through the door. Wilkins hated her. Beth hated her. They were bound to ensure she was in the most amount of danger as possible.

Four agents, including Wilkins, would enter afterwards, leaving four at the door to be used as backup if needed. The Beta team would have arrived at the back of the hotel by now and taken out any extra FORT members they hadn’t known about, meaning Scylla and her group would have a safe getaway.

Hopefully, if her plan worked, they wouldn’t have any bodies, alive or dead, with them when they left.

Scylla closed her eyes, taking two deep breaths, steadying herself, before Wilkins silently counted down.

Five, four, three, two, one…

* * *

The door crashed open and bullets immediately started flying.

The girls had obviously taken cover behind various pieces of furniture, so no bullets hit them. Once the initial shooting had ceased, the SPREE agents obviously surprised to find them ready and waiting for them, Raelle jumped out of her spot behind the overturned table.

Lashing out her whip, she hit one of the agents on the hand, causing them to cry out in pain and drop their gun. Before they could react, Raelle ran forward and grabbed the gun, then took cover behind a wall just as more bullets were let loose.

“You’re outnumbered,” a voice yelled out to them over the gun fire. “Surrender now and we may let you live.”

Abigail laughed humourlessly. “You fucking wish!”, she shouted and then spun out from behind a wall and ran across the room, letting her guns rip as she did so.

Tally then stood up from behind the sofa and fired three arrows in quick succession. Raelle watched as one hit an agent right in the eye, and another in the leg. The third, however, was deflected. By a sword.

_Who the fuck uses a sword?_

Raelle had only ever seen SPREE agents using guns or hand to hand combat and the idea of any of them using something as cool as a sword didn’t seem right to her.

She stared at the agent and it seemed that the agent was staring straight back at her, neither of them able to tear their gaze away.

Suddenly a bullet whizzed past Raelle’s ear and she instinctively fell to the floor. She crawled back to her original spot behind the table, berating herself for getting distracted.

“We need to get out!” Tally called out. Raelle looked over and saw her friend crouched behind the fridge, unable to get any shots off as there was a constant stream of bullets flying over her head.

Blindly, she held the SPREE agent’s gun over her head and emptied the magazine, hoping she would hit at least one target. They had managed to kill two agents and injure another two, but the gunfire wasn’t easing up and they had no safe exit to the door or the window.

Raelle didn’t want to leave. This was the most alive she had felt in weeks, but she knew they had to find a way out or they would all be dead.

A loud cry broke Raelle out of her thoughts and she looked up just in time to see the sword wielding agent jumping over the table and bring down her sword. Raelle quickly dodged the attack and readied herself for close combat. But then the agent did something completely unexpected. She dropped her sword.

Raelle blinked in confusion but recovered quickly. She swiped the agent’s legs, causing them to fall to the ground, and picked up the now dropped sword.

She held the sword to the agent’s throat, feeling empowered. The agent didn’t respond. No whimpering, crying, fighting, arguing. Nothing. They simply looked back at Raelle through their balaclava. The light in the room was poor but she could have sworn she knew those eyes.

“Get up!” she demanded the agent, forcing herself to focus on the present rather than getting lost in her memories.

The agent obeyed and stood up slowly. Raelle moved behind them, keeping the sword at their throat and positioned herself flush against their body. By the feel of the form, the agent was a woman.

“I have one of your own,” Raelle shouted as loudly as she could. The shooting and fighting ceased as everyone in the room turned to look at the pair. Raelle walked backwards with her hostage toward the window with the rope and gestured at Tally and Abigail to get behind her.

“Nice one, shit bird,” Abigail praised, limping toward Raelle. She had clearly been shot in the leg, but she would survive.

Tally joined them and Raelle was relieved to see that she was unharmed.

Raelle smiled at her friends before turning back to the SPREE agents, who were looking to a woman, who was clearly their superior, for guidance.

“If you shoot, you’ll kill her,” Raelle told them, although that much was obvious.

“One life lost is worth the reward,” the woman in charge responded, and Raelle really should have seen this coming. SPREE didn’t care about anything, not even their own. She almost felt sorry for her hostage.

“Okay,” she started, desperately trying to think of a plan, “so you kill her, get one of us maybe, but you won’t be able to get us all.”

“Oh, but we don’t want all of you. We only want one,” the woman paused, clearly enjoying this moment immensely, “we only want you, Raelle Collar.”

Raelle faltered.

Why did they want her? Or was it just a trick to get her to lower her guard? Either way, the woman knew her name. She shouldn’t know her name. How did she know her name?

Before Raelle could spiral any more, Tally spoke up.

“Well, you won’t get her!” She snatched the sword from Raelle’s now limp hand and took over the role of capturer. 

“That’s right,” Abigail agreed, and she shoved Raelle closer to the window. “Go!”

“But…” Raelle began to argue.

“Raelle, go,” Abigail ordered, using her leader voice.

“Both of you go,” Tally told them. “I’ll be right behind you.”

“Tally, no…” Raelle once again began arguing.

“Fuck sake Raelle, for once just listen.” Tally pleaded with her friend.

Abigail hated the way this had played out as much as Raelle did, but she knew that they needed to get out. They couldn’t wait any longer, and if SPREE really did want Raelle then she had to get her friend to safety. No matter what.

“Come on,” she whispered to Raelle, gently pushing her out of the window.

* * *

Scylla breathed out a quiet sigh of relief when she was sure that Raelle and Abigail had successfully exited the room via the window.

The girls had obviously noticed her flashing light considering they had been prepared, and she silently thanked every god she could think of for listening to her prayer.

Now she needed to make sure that Tally, and preferably Scylla herself, managed to get out of this as well.

Wilkins wouldn’t give a shit about shooting her. And killing Tally, a FORT agent, would be a job well done. So, Scylla knew that the shooting was going to start any second.

“Jump,” she whispered to Tally, then forcefully pushed her backwards as hard as she could before falling to the floor.

Tally fell, stumbling backwards toward the window.

Scylla watched, with bated breath, as Tally managed to turn and jump out of the window just in time. The bullets started flying a split second later.

She hoped Tally had managed to grab the rope on her way down, and as soon as the shooting ceased, Scylla scrambled to the window and wildly searched for any sight of the girls.

Tears sprung to her eyes as she watched Raelle and Abigail help Tally into a van which quickly sped off and away to safety.

Her plan had actually worked!

Wilkins joined her at the window and Scylla hid her smile as the woman screamed angrily into the empty night.

* * *

“How did you manage to get out?” Glory asked after they had been driving a few minutes.

“Raelle was a total fucking badass and took one of those bitches hostage!” Abigail gleefully told the other unit.

“That’s incredible,” one of the girls exclaimed.

“Wow, you’re so cool,” another told Raelle.

Raelle smiled weakly at the girls. She looked away from them all and stared out the window, a confused and torn look on her face.

Tally watched her from her seat opposite the blonde, an identical look on her face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know I said I would try and update more quickly and regularly, but life has been rather shit recently and I haven't even been able to think about this fic. 
> 
> Hopefully not everyone has lost interest! I promise to try and do better from now on. 
> 
> If you liked the chapter please comment and leave kudos :)


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